Georgia is back on top of the AP Top 25, and Ohio State has hit a low it hasn’t seen in more than a decade.
The Bulldogs moved to No. 1 after Miami’s first loss cracked open the top of the poll. Georgia improved to 8-1 by rolling past Ole Miss 42-7 on the road, reclaiming the spot it held before its Oct. 17 loss to Auburn.
Miami, also 8-1, slid to No. 5 after falling 31-24 to Notre Dame, which climbed to No. 3 at 8-1. Ahead of the Hurricanes are No.
2 Utah and No. 4 UCLA, both unbeaten at 9-0.
Utah beat then-top-10 BYU 28-20 in the Holy War, while UCLA handled Minnesota 34-20.
Ohio State’s fall was the other major headline. The Buckeyes dropped all the way to No. 21 after their second straight loss, a 41-28 defeat to Oregon.
At 6-3, they’re trying to find answers without injured quarterback Julian Sayin and are on the brink of playoff elimination. It’s a steep drop, and a very different kind of trouble than the 2014 team, which bottomed out at No. 23 before rebounding to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.
The rest of the top 10 features No. 6 Indiana (8-1), No.
7 Alabama (7-2), No. 8 Texas (7-2), No.
9 Tennessee (7-2) and No. 10 Texas Tech (8-1).
There were a few notable risers and falls elsewhere in the poll. Oregon jumped to No. 18 after being unranked, while LSU tumbled to No. 24, dropping nine spots after Alabama’s 31-13 win.
AP Top 25
- Georgia (8-1)
- Utah (9-0)
- Notre Dame (8-1)
- UCLA (9-0)
- Miami (8-1)
6, Indiana (8-1)
- Alabama (7-2)
- Texas (7-2)
- Tennessee (7-2)
- Texas Tech (8-1)
- Wake Forest (8-1)
- BYU (7-2)
- Kentucky (7-2)
- Houston (7-2)
- Southern California (7-2)
- Iowa (7-2)
- Boise State (8-1)
- Oregon (6-3)
- Ole Miss (6-3)
- South Carolina (6-3)
- Ohio State (6-3)
- Arizona (7-2)
- New Mexico (8-1)
- LSU (6-3)
- SMU (7-2)
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Exposed A Problem Bigger Than One Loss
Ohio State came out sharp against Oregon, jumping ahead 14-0 in the first quarter and still holding a 14-3 edge late in the first half. Then the game tilted hard, with Oregon scoring 38 straight points and flipping the matchup with a fake punt, turnovers and a surge that left the Buckeyes chasing the rest of the way.
The loss does not close the door on Ohio States bigger goals, since the Buckeyes still control a path to the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff if they take care of the games left on their schedule. But the way this one unraveled raised the kind of questions that linger beyond a single defeat, especially around quarterback play and whether the teams effort can stay steady when the game turns against it. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Saw Why This Freshman Could Change Everything
Anthony Thompson gave Ohio State a glimpse of what its freshman class might become in the first half against Marshall, scoring 10 points and helping steady the Buckeyes in an 84-74 win. With the schedule about to stiffen, that kind of early contribution matters even more for a team still trying to sort out its rotation and build the kind of chemistry that can hold up against better competition.
LJ Smiths scoreless night showed the other side of the freshman learning curve, and Ohio States defensive issues were also hard to ignore. The Buckeyes now turn to a much tougher test against fourth-ranked UConn, where the margin for growth will shrink quickly and the need for both freshmen to keep developing will be impossible to miss. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Is Running Out Of Time To Fix A Costly Problem
Ohio State has made a clear move to address one of the seasons most frustrating issues, parting ways with special teams coordinator Robby Discher after nine games in 2026. The Buckeyes turned to Rob Keys as the interim coordinator for the rest of the year, while Matt Guerrieri and James Laurinaitis will help steer the punt and kickoff units, giving Ryan Day a reshuffled staff as the team tries to steady a phase that has repeatedly hurt it.
Day said there will not be any more coaching changes before the next game, but the evaluation process is still ongoing. That leaves Ohio State in a familiar late-season spot: trying to clean up a costly problem quickly, with limited time to see whether the new arrangement can bring order to a unit that has already given away too many damaging moments. [Read more 🡒]